Power-driven-implement vehicle



'Manx 2Q), 11923.

5 sheets-sheet l Original Filed Mar. 8, 191'? enroule J. E. BARTHOLOMEW POWER DRIVEN IMPLEMENT VEHICLE Original Filed Mar. 8, 191'? Mm'. Z, E923.

Jv. B. BARTHOLQMEW- POWER DRIVEN 'IMPLEMENT VEHICLE sheets-sheet 3 original ,Filed Mar'. a, 1917 )Patented ll/lar., itil,

tanni earner JOHN B. BARTHOLOMEW, F EEORA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNGR T AVERY COMPANY, OF PEORA, ILLXNOIS, A CORPORATON OF ILLINOS.

POWER-DRIVENMPLEMENT VEHCLE.

Application filed March 8, 1917, Serial No. 153,331.

To all whom fir may concern.'

lie it known that JOHN l. Ben'rrroro- New, a citizen of the United States, residing at lieoria, in the county ot Peoria and State ot illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful lmproren'ients in lf'ower Drivenlmplement Vehicles, ot which the 'tollowing is a specification, reiference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

My invention relates to motor-propelled implement vehicles and has for its object to simplify such machine, to increase its mobility, and to render it easy to manipulateas will be pointed out in the following specification.

rFhe accompanying drawings illustrate the invention applied to a cultivator having a pair ot' gangs or soil stirring tools; but it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited in its useful applications to an implement of thisl specific character.

1n the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the complete machine, the cultivator gangs and their adjusting devices, the spokes ot the main supporting wheels, and details of the motor being omitted tor the sake ot clearness, as they form no part or" the present invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view ot the machine, parts being in horizontal section, and other parts omitted.

Figure 3 is a side view of the main trame, detached, carrying the motor and other parte of the machine.

Figure 4 is a side elevation ot the cultivator trame, detached, carrying the other parts of the machine, herealso the spokes ot the main supporting wheels being omitted.

Figure 5 is a rear elevation ot the por# tion of the machine represented in Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a plan view with parts in horizontal elevation illustrating mechanisintor adjusting the movable part-s of the train oitl driving gearing, drawn on a larger scale than the views thus tar described.

Figure 7 is a transverse sectional yvie-w taken on the sect-ion lines Vil- V11 ot Figures 2 and 6.

Figure 8 is a detail vertical sectional view, taken on the line VH1-V111 of Figure 2.

1n the accompanying drawings A indicates as a whole the main frame supporting the motor 16 and other parts to be described, and B indicates as a whole the cultivator trame-these two being united to Renewed October la, 1922. Serial No. 594,654.

torni the complete machine. The cultivator ira-me is, in its main features, ot common construction, and need not therefore be illustrated or described in much detail. For the purpose ot understanding the present invention, it is sufficient to say that it comprises a pair of ground and main supporting wheels 2, mounted upon an arched axle 3 that is supported by horizontal frame sills 4;. The trame has a rearward extension 5, by which is supported the drivers seat G. ln this trame are supported in any preferred or well known manner sets of cultivator gangs 7 provided with liftingdevices controlled by levers 8, thatextend rearwardly so as to be within convenient reach of' the person occupying the seat 6. The cultivator gang trames, as is usual, 4are supported so as to have a certain freedom of la eral movement, and are controlled directly by the operator through means indicated at 9, provided for that purpose.

10 represents the base of the main trame A, this `being preferably formed of longitudinal sills ot channel iron and suitable connecting and bracing members. To these longitudinal 'sills of the main trame are united the horizontal sills 4l of the cultivater frame B, in any suitable manner to torni a. substantial, rigid unitary frame work.

rlhe forward e d of the main frame A is supported by a single caster wheel 11, mounted at the lower end of'a vertically disposed spindle 12, that passes through a braced sleeve or tube 13, carrying suitable bearings for the spindle. r1`he caster wheel turns upon a stub axle 14 at the lower end oi the spindle 12, which is cranked or oliset just below the Jframe parts 10. An internal combustion engine 16,'having the usual accessories of such a motor, including a radiator, 17, is mounted on the frame A Vbeneath a canopy 18 that protects it 'from the elements. 19 and 2O are respectively the spark and throttle levers that extend from the engine rearwardly to positions within convenient reach ot the driver of the Inachine, where they are supported in a standard 21. Y

Secured to each ground wheel 2, is a sprocket wheel, 22 connected by a chain 23 with a sprocket pinion 24 at the end of a transverse shaft 25. Each shaft 25 carries a gear wheel 26 that meshes with a gear pinion 27 on a shaft v28, `suitably supported in the frame il parallel with the shaft 25. The outer end of the shaft 28 is made angular in cross section, as represented at 29,

slide in the hub v right angles toeach other. E-achyshaft 28 is supported., nearits inner end, in a bearing 35,' that r1s movable vto a limited extent-- carrying withit the portion of the shaft it supports-so that the friction disk Sion the t shaft may be forced into working` engage ment with-either'o-f the driving disks,32 or 33, or brought to anintermediate and idle position betweenfthese disks and, out of working engagement with either one. In order to effect lthe movement of the bearing just Areferred to, I connect therewithV a shiftrod leading rearwardly to a hand lever increasing pressure.

mit, theirfree ends to overlap;

prefer tov interpose .yielding located nea-r the drivers seat, with which it is connected.v There is a shift rod and operating lever foreach bearing, one of the rods being designated 36, the, other 36', and one hand lever 37, and the other 37.

As the levers 37 are used to cause the disks 3,1- .toI bemoved into frictional engagement with the drivingfdisks of theeng'ine shaft, l1

elements bee tween such levers'and the bearings., in order Athat they drivin-g engagement between the friction disks shall be gradual and with l In the arrangement that 1 illustrate, toieifect this, each shifter rodvisforme'd of' two parts, one connected with thebearing and the other with the hand lever. These are made long enough to perarebent` and formed into eyes 60, the eye of onepart encirclingy the main longitudinal portion oftheother part, thus making a rod that may bevvaried as to its length and is yet stiiflaterally from end toend.V

38%38 indicate coiled springs surroundingA one.r of the parts of the shift Vrod and located onopposite sides of the loop 60 of the other part, and 61` are nuts secured to the :rod section that the springs encircle and serving as bearings for the ends of the springs and as meansby which their tension may be adjusted. The springs hold the two parts of the rody Sti4 yieldingly in a deter mined. relationship, giving definite length to the rodlbut permitting a limited lengthening ,or shortening thereof as vone or the other 65 spring is put under compression by the hand Such ends lever as wheel 3l is forced into working engagement with a driving disk on the engine shaft.

One ofthe shifter rods, that designated 36, is connected with its operating hand lever 37 at a point above the l'pivot of the latter; while the other rod 36 is connected with its lever below the pivotI thereof. This arrangement has been adoptedV in order that when both levers are simultaneously moved in a engagement of both` forward direction, driven friction wheels 3l with the driving disks that cause forward propulsion of the machine is effected, both moved in the opposite direction, engagement with the driving disks that turns the drive wheels rearwardly is caused. When it is desired to turn the cultivator, as at the end of a row being cultivated, one ofl the hand levers is moved and allowed to come to a mid, or idle, position, causing disengagement of the friction disk that it con-` trols from ytheforwardly drivingdisk, so that then only one wheel 2 is driven. Should the rearward movement of the hand lever just referred to be sufficiently great to bring themoved disk 3l into engagement with the opposite driving` disk, one wheel 2 would then be driven forwardly and. the, other rearwardly, insuring a very shortturning of the machine, as about a vertical pivot passing through the center of the driving mechanism. Whenever the machine is being turned, the front wheel ll yis left acts as la caster only.

Each driven shaft 28 has connected with v it a bell crank lever.39, suitably pivoted in the frame A,

and arranged to move the shaft `inthe direction of its length, the shaft being free to slide in its bearing 35 and in the hub 30l of the pinion 27, as has been de scribed. Such movement of the shaft carries theidriven friction disk Sltoward, o-r away and when the levers are free, andfrom, the axis of revolution of the driving disks 32 and 33, thusmakingit p ossibleto adjust lthe speed at which the machine is driven. The twobell crank levers 39 are connected, by links 40, with a forked or Y- shaped bar tl, the stem 42 of which is screwthreaded and enters a tubular nut 43, that is secured to and adapted toJ be turned by a rod 44 that is provided atitsy rear end with a crank handle 45, kThe cranked end of therod'y is supported in the standard 2l, directly in front of the ydrivers seat. By turning the rodef, the forked bar l-l is moved longitudinally and thatin turn rocks the bell crank levers 89 toshift theV shafts 28 longitudinally.

The upper end of the spindle 12, on which issupported the front caster` wheel, 'has secured to it a worm wheel LlGQ-withv which meshes a worm 47. to a shaft 48 that extends rearward over the canopy 18 where.` it is supported in a The worm is secured fast.`

bearing 52 and is connected by a universal joint 53 with an operating rod 54 that is mounted in the standard 2l, and carries at its rear end the hand wfheel 55. Through this train of operating devices, the driver upon the seat 6 can positively turn the caster wheel and thus direct the course of the machine, it being thus steered when in operation. The shaft 48 passes loosely through a pair of eccentrics 49 located one on each side of the worm 47 and mounted in bearing 50 formed in a support 5l suitably secured to the upper end of thef sleeve 13. Each eccentric 49 is formed with an arm or extension 55, which arms are` preferably united by a crossbar 62. A rod 57 connected with the connecting bar 62 is employed to rotate the eccentrics in their bearings, and thus bodily move the worm into or out of mesh with the worm wheel 4G. rIhe rod 57 extends rearwardly and is supported in the bearing 52. To its rear end is connected a second rod 56 that extends to a position near the driver, where it is supported in the standard 2l', its rear end being cranked as at 59 so that it may be manipulated. As the crank v59 is thrown to the right or to the left the rod 57 is turned in such way as to carry the eccentrics toward the positions shown by full lines and dotted lines in Fig. 8. Shifting the rod 57 so as to throw the worm entirely out of mesh with the worm wheel 46 leaves the front cast-er wheel free, thus permitting the machine to be turned through a manipulation of the engine connections, as has been described.

The machine herein illustrated is a straddle row cultivator, adapted to stir the soil on both sides of two rows of a growing crop. rThe frame of the machine, considered as a whole, comprises a central, forwardly extending frame element that carries the steering wheel, which runs between the two rows of plants being cultivated, and

the two ground or traction wheels are ar-v ranged to travel outside the said rows. The rearwardly extending seat frame is preferably centrally disposed and in line with the forward extension supported by the steering` wheel.

It is to be understood that other tillage implements besides a straddle row cultivator might be connected with the motorcarrying frame which has been designated as a whole by A; and also that, when the frames are separated,as indicated in Figures 3 and 4, the cultivator is capable of independent use, either horse-drawn or motor drawn, while the motor-carrying frame may be put to a different use from that herein illustrated.

The traction wheels, the engine, the front wheel and the tools 7, are so positioned in relatiorl to the drivers support that he can not only readily control the tool carriers (swinging them laterally with his feet and lifting them when necessary) but at all times can observe, practically simultaneously, the plant rowsv` the. tools, the traction wheels and the front wheel, and observe closely the direction of travel of the machine in relation to the rows. The engine is carried upon the laterally restricted forward projecting part of the frame, these being so arranged as not to materially obstruct the sight of the driver, and he can accurately note the line of travel of the wheels.

As concerns the fore andv aftadjustments of the shafts 28 to bring the driven friction disks 3l into working engagement'with the drivingdisks 32, 33, it will be understood that the bearing 35 may be guided and directedin any suitable manner, the guides being slightly curved, or there being suiiicient looseness 'between guide and bearing to permit the necessary movements, as may seem mostdesirable. At the outer end, each shaft may be slightly loose in its hub or bearing 30, or the latter may be supported so as to be movable as about a pivot to a slight degree to accommodate the shaft. It will be understood that the amount of movement in any case is very slight.

The arched or straddle row cross shaft 3 is connected, near its outer ends, with a cross bar 64 of the frame by adjustable tension rod 65.

In order that the mechanism, as an entirety, may be readily understood, I have herein referred to its several parts. But it will be understood that the features herein claimed are those characteristic of this mechanism as an implement vehicle. I do not herein claim any of the structural matters which can be regarded as characteristic of a mere tractor, the claims presented reciting the matters whereby the mechanism' is specially adapted for implement work, regardless of any particular tools. rIhe features referred to will be readily understood and have been fully described.

'What I claim is:

l. In a power driven implement vehicle, the combination of the main frame, the motor thereon, the two remote transversely aligned traction wheels at the rear end of the frame, the centrally arranged wheel at the front end of the frame normally adapted to caster freely, the drivers support positioned behind the aforesaid parts and arranged to permit the inspection of the traction wheels the front wheel and the ground surface between and around the wheels, means operable from the drivers support to positively stop the castering of the front central wheel and cause it to steer the machine. and means operable from the drivers support for causing the engine to rotate both of the traction wheels simultaneously or to rotate one of them whilevthe other is relatively stationary, whereby the machine is adapted to have the front wheel travel between, andthe traction wheels travel outside of two rows of plants, vand to carry tools in the spacel between the traction wheels and in front of the driver.

2. In arpower driven implement vehicle, the combination ot' the traction wheels, the centrally positioned front wheel, the frame having the relatively laterally widened rear portion supporting the traction wheels, and the laterally restricted central forward pro-- jecting part carrying the front wheel at the center, said central wheel beingnormallyl f adapted to caster freely, an engine supported on the said central restricted part of the frame, cross shafting actuated by the engine and supported on the wider n part of the iframe, gearing connecting the cross shatting to the ground traction wheels, the driver-s support positioned as set forth to permit inspection therefrom of .the traction wheelsl thejfront wheel land the groundsurface between and in front of the said wheels, means controllable manually from the drivesxsupport for causing the engine and the transverse s hafting to steer or turn the .machine through the traction wheels, and manual means 'for lcontrolling thelateral movements of, the caster wheel and causing it to steer thev machine, all of said partsvbeing ranged as Set forth to have theV front wheel travel. between, and the traction wheels travel outside of, two rows of plants, andl l M. CALDWELL, H. N. BLAoKMoN. 

